Throughout history, the trajectory of global life expectancy has been shaped by an intricate interplay of socio-economic advancements, medical breakthroughs, and the relentless pursuit of public health interventions. From the dawn of the industrial revolution to the modern era of cutting-edge medical technology, the narrative of human longevity has witnessed remarkable shifts and transformations.

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Historical Timeline of This Massive Growth ~  Globally, life expectancy has been rising continuously for about two centuries. Improvements in housing, education, and cleanliness drove a continuous drop in early and mid-life mortality, primarily from infections, over the 19th and early 20th centuries, increasing life expectancy. The discovery of vaccinations and later antibiotics carried on this pattern. There was not much more space for early and midlife mortality reduction by the second part of the 20th century. The decrease in late-life mortality is largely responsible for the ongoing growth.

A recent research published in The Lancet found that, globally, life expectancy increased by 6.2 years between 1990 and 2021. This advancement can be attributed to a decrease in global mortality rates from lower respiratory tract infections, ischemic heart disease, and strokes. However, COVID-19 was a depressant in a lot of nations. The food and waterborne infections known as intestinal illnesses—which include bacterial, parasite, and viral diseases—have been the main cause of the greatest decline in mortality. Typhoid and diarrhea are included in the category of illnesses. Between 1990 and 2021, life expectancy increased by 1-2 years due to a decrease in fatalities from various illnesses; however, the gain was more pronounced in the decade between 1990 and 2000 than in the following decades.

Lower rates of death from infectious enteric illnesses resulted in a notable increase in life expectancy in South Asia of 3.1 years." We already know how to save children from dying from enteric infections, including diarrheal diseases, and there has been tremendous progress in fighting this disease," the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's (IHME) Director of Subnational Burden of Disease Estimation Mohsen Naghavi stated in his statement. The study's principal author, Naghavi, said, "Now, we need to concentrate on preventing and treating these diseases, strengthening and expanding immunization programs, and developing brand-new vaccines against E. coli, norovirus, and Shigella."

The researchers discovered that the decline in fatalities from lower respiratory infections was the second-biggest factor in raising life expectancy, resulting in an increase in life expectancy of 0.9 years between 1990 and 2021. In a similar vein, the researchers observed that a gain of 0.5 years in life expectancy was attributed to a decrease in chronic respiratory disorders. This was mostly due to East Asia, with China seeing improvements in mortality.


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There was significant regional variation in life expectancy. The biggest global increase in life expectancy, 8.3 years, was seen in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania. At the same time, the COVID-19-related decline in life expectancy is the least, at 0.4 years. Eve Wool, a senior research manager at IHME, stated in a statement that "the global community must ensure that the lifesaving tools that have cut deaths from ischemic heart disease, stroke, and other non-communicable diseases in most high-income countries are available to people in all countries, even where resources are limited." Additionally, many illnesses that may be prevented by vaccination, like measles, have seen significant declines in fatality rates and have been regionally localized, according to various insightful research work. 

However, amidst these strides forward, the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic emerges as a pivotal chapter, reshaping the landscape of global life expectancy and underscoring the critical importance of resilience and collective action in safeguarding public health.